Paper-file



- No Model.)

' 0. SHERWOOD.

PAPER FILE.

Patented Mar. 25, 1884.

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. To all whom it may concern.-

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CALVIN W. SHERWOOD, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PAPER-FILE.

SPECIPI CATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 295,591, dated March 25, 1884-. Application filed October 26, 1883. (No model.)

Be it known that I, CALVIN W. SHERWOOD, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, anda citizen of the United States, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Paper-Files, of which the following is afull description, reference being had to theacc'ompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a plan showinga series of indexpapers, which papers are not shown in the others figures. Fig. 2 is a vertical section at line a m of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is avertical section at line 3 y of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail. Figs. 5 and 6 are also enlarged details.

Paper-files consisting of a base provided with receiving-wires, and also with a separate punch adapted to perforate papers to fit the wires, I am aware are in use. l

The leading objects of my invention are to furnish a paper-file having a receiving-wire,

so formed that it will serve the purpose of a punch, cutting out a piece from the paper when applied thereto, and to cheapen the construction of the file.

Those things which I suppose to be new will be clearly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, A represents abase, which may be made of wood of any desirable size and of suitable thickness.

B are a' series of strips of paper, upon one end of which are index-letters. These strips are made and applied in the usual manner. They are no part of my invention, and are not necessary to the use of the file, but only a convenience.

O is a metal tube, the wall of which is thin. The upper end of this tube is notched, as shown in Fig. 6, and the parts a b on each side of the notch extend upward a considerable distance, and are pointed atthe top, and their edges are sharp. In one side-of this tube, and near the This tube O is the re ceiving-wire, and it is to be secured permanentlyto the base A in any suitable manner. As shown, this is accomplished as follows:

(2 is a piece of metal, soldered or otherwise secured to the lower end of the tube 0.

Dis a metal plate secured to the tube 0 or the part at by soldering or otherwise.

6 is a hole in the base A, large enough to receive the metal piece 01. The tube 0 is secured to the base byinserting the metal piece d in the tube 0 in place, having, as clearly shown I in Fig. 4., an extension, f, provided on each side with guideways g, which may be formed from the metal itself and turned over toward the center of the plate.

h is a slide arranged to be moved back and forth under the guides g.

Eis a curved wire, one end of which is permanently secured to the slide it, and the other end, as shown, is enlarged and arranged to fit into the notch in the top of the tube 0.

F are wires secured to the base A, which serve the purpose of preventing the papers placed upon the single receiving-wire 0 from swinging to either side. At the upper end of the base A, and through the plate D, there is a hole, '5, by means of which the file can be hung upon a hook, if desired.

The operation is as follows: When a paper is to be placed upon the receiving-wire O, the slide h is to be drawn back, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, which will carry the wire E away from the receiving-wire O, leaving its upper end exposed. The paper can then be readily forced onto the receiving-wire, and its form at the top is such that a nearly round piece will be cut out from the paper, thus doing the work which heretofore has been done by a separate punch. After the paper has been applied, the slide k may be brought forward again, bringing the enlarged end of the wire 15,) into the notch at the upper end of G. In this position the papers upon the receiving-wire can be thrown over onto the wire E, when desired in examining papers upon the file.

As I only use a single receiving-wire, pa-

pers, when placed thereon, will be liable to swing to one side or the other, and to prevent this I provide the stops F, which may be of the form shown, or a single wire or stop on each side of the center might be used in place of the double wire F on each side I thus provide a paper-file which can be constructed with but little expense, and parties using the same can'therefore the better afford to keep the papers applied to each file permanently thereon, placing the files away on shelves or otherwise, and providing new files for newpar be passed, and then the papers can all be 2 295,591 I i f pers, instead of removing thepapers from the file when full, as is now commonly done. If, however, it should be deemed advisable to remove the papers from each file when it is filled, I provide for easily doing this by means of the slot 0, into which a thread or small cord can thrown over onto'thewire E, in' doing which they will necessarily pass onto the thread or cord.

I provide a receiving-wire, which also serves the purpose of a punch, which is a desirable feature, because if the papers are forced onto a pointed wire without cutting out a piece from the paper, the burr upon the paper takes up somuch room that a given number of such papers occupy about as much again space as they would if a piece of the proper size were removed from each paper, as is done by punching.

I do not limit myself to the use of a receivi ing-wire, O, which is hollow, although it is l convenient to make the same from a metal tube. The object of my invention could be accom- I plished by making the receiving-wire 0 solid and providing it with a notch and projecting points a b with sharp edges. Neither do I limit myself to the means described for securing the receiving-wire to the base A, as anyknown method may be adopted.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows:

1. A receivingwire-for a paper-file, provided with a notch at its upper end, the walls of which notch are adapted to cut a piece out from a paper when being placed on the wire, in combination with a sliding holding-wire adapted to enter said notch by its sliding movement, substantially as described.

2. In a paper-file, a sliding plate, h, and a wire, E, secured thereto, in combination with a base, A, receiving-wire G, notched at its upper end, and stops F on'opposite sides of said wire and back thereof, substantially as described.

CALVIN W. SHERWOOD. 

